Confectioner&#39;s dipping-tray.



v W. R; CLARKE. GONFBOTIONER'S DIPPING TRAY.

' APPLICATION FILED OUT. 9, 1908. 929,555.

Patented July 27, 1909.

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WILLIAM R. CLARKE, OF READING, MASSACHUSETTS.

CONFECTIONERS DIPPING-TRAY.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, \VILLIAM It. CLARKE, of Reading, in the county ofMiddlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Confectioners Dipping-T rays, of which thefollowing is a specification.

Thisinvention relates to so-called dipping trays or boards used in candyfactories to support chocolate creams and other confections, consistingof a core or body coated with chocolate.

It is the practice in making chocolate creams and other likeconfections, to dip the cores or body portions in a semi-fluidpreparation composed mainly of chocolate and cocoa butter, and todeposit the confection thus formed on flat trays, a number of which arepiled in a stack, and transported, While stacked, to the part of thefactory where they are left while the chocolate coatings harden.

The trays are usually made of wood, each being usually composed of afiat wooden body and two upwardly projecting flanges at the endsthereof, the flanges of each body being adpted to support another traydeposited upon them.

Portions of the soft chocolate of which the coatings are made are liableto drop upon the trays, these portions adhering rather tenaciously tothe wood of which the trays are made, so that an attempt to scrape themofi and prevent waste is liable to remove splinters from the wood withthe chocolate. The waste chocolate cannot be reclaimed by washing withhot water or steam, because these agents would dilute and spoil thechocolate. The waste chocolate cannot be thoroughly removed from thewood by dry heat or air sufliciently heated to melt the chocolate,because a considerable part of the melted chocolate and cocoa butterwill adhere to the fibers of the wood.

I have found that a dipping tray made of smooth surfaced aluminum orother suit able metal, is free fromthe above noted objections to awooden tray, waste chocolate deposited thereon being adapted to bereadily removed when the tray is subjected to hot air, by placing thetray with its supporting surface in a vertical position,

so that the melted chocolate is free to flow by gravitation from thetray.

The invention consists in a metal tray adapted not only to standon edgeon a Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 9, 1908;

Patented July 27, 1909.

Serial No. 456,914;

horizontal support so that melted chocolate will flow from it, but'alsoto be assembled with other trays in a stack or pile and transported fromone part of a factory to another, without liability of edgewise displacement of either tray relatively to the others, and therefore withoutliability of one tray dropping onto the coated confections supported bythe tray beneath it.

The invention consists in the improved tray which I will now proceed todescrib and claim.

Of'the accompanying drawings, forming a part of thisspecification,Figure 1 rep resents a perspective view of a dipping trayembodying my invention. Fig. 2 represents a sectional view of a portionof a pile of trays. Fig. 3 represents a perspective view of a trayembodying my invention, standing on one edge to permit melted chocolateto flow from it.

The same reference characters indicate the same parts in all thefigures.

In the drawings, 12 represents the body portion of a dipping trayadapted to support chocolate creams or other chocolate coatedconfections. Said body portion is composed of a sheet or thin plate ofaluminum or other suitable metal, two opposite'en'd portions of whichare bent downwardly to form lower inclines 13, 13, outwardly to formnecks 14, 14c, and upwardly to form flanges 15, 15, the upper portionsof which are bent inwardly to form upper inclines 15, 15. The said partsare so arranged relatively to each other that a number of trays areadapted to be piled or stacked, as shown in Fig. 2, the inclines 13 ofeach tray bearing on the inclines 15 of the tray below it. The necks 14of each tray project outwardly from the inclines 15 of the next lowertray, said necks and inclines forming recesses 16 which permit theoperatives fingers to engage each tray and lift it from the tray onwhichit has been deposited.

In practice, a plurality of trays on which chocolate-coated confectionshave been deposited, are stacked, as indicated in Fig. 2, the flanges ofeach tray supporting the next tray above it, above the charge ofconfections, edgewise displacement of either tray relatively to the nexttray being prevented by the frictional engagement of the inclines 13 ofone tray with the inclines 15 of the next tray below it, thus firmlyholding the trays against relative shifting in any direction.

It will be seen that the inclines 13 of each tray project from one sideof the plane of the body portion 12, while the inclines 15" project fromthe opposite side of said plane, the arrangement being such that thetray is adapted to stand on one edge, as shown in Fig 3, all itssurfaces on which waste chocolate is liable to be deposited standingvertically. hen it is desirable to remove waste chocolate from a trayand reclaim the chocolate, the tray is placed on edge on a horizontalsupport, in a suitable space or apartment, and subjected to the actionof hot air at a sutficient temperature to melt the waste chocolate onthe tray. The chocolate thus melted flows down the vertical surfaces ofthe tray onto the surface below where it accumulates and may readily bereclaimed, the melted chocolate separating freely from the metalsurfaces of the tray and its extensions 18, 14 and 15.

The sheet or plate metal tray above described, besides having theadvantages over wood of readily releasing melted chocolate under theinfluence of dry heat, has the further advantage of being practicallyunbreakable under the rough usage to which dipping trays are subjectedby the irresponsible help usually employed in candy factories. Theinclines 13, necks 14, and flanges 15 form hollow ribs extending acrossthe ends of the tray and materially increas ing its stifi'ness.Furthermore, this formation not only enables a tray to be set on a tableby itself, the under sides of the ribs forming feet so as to hold theflat portion 12 out of contact with such table or with any loosematerial that may be on such table, but the inside of said ribs formchannels or gutters into which melted chocolate may run and from whichit can be poured out at either end.

I claim:

1. A metal dipping tray comprising a body portion and end extensionsintegral therewith projecting from both sides of the plane of the bodyportion and adapted both to sustain the tray on edge and to engagecorresponding parts of other trays in a stack, the free edges of saidextensions being inwardly inclined.

2. A metal dipping tray comprising a body bent at its end portions toform lower inclines projecting from one side of the body, necksprojecting outwardly from said inclines and flanges extending from saidnecks crosswise of the body, said flanges being bent to form upperinclines adapted yieldingly and frictionally to engage the lowerinclines of another tray, the said lower and upper inclines being atopposite sides of the plane of the body, and adapted to support thelatter on edge.

3. A metal dipping tray comprising a flat body portion and sidesintegral with the body portion and formed with channels or guttersbetween said flat portion and sides, said channels or gutters being openor unobstructed at each end.

In testimony whereof I have afiixed my signature, in presence of twowitnesses.

WVILLIAM R. CLARKE.

Htnesses:

G. F. BROWN, P. W. PEZZETTI.

